Like Gunshots
by hibiren
Summary: One night during a storm, Ghost wakes up to the sounds of Roach having a nightmare and tries to console him until he goes back to sleep. [repost from my ao3 account]


The sound of whimpering, just barely louder than the rain outside, brought Ghost out of his pleasant sleep when the hushed sounds turned to frantic and desperate cries at a sudden crash of thunder that shook the whole room. Ghost slid out of the bottom bunk and stepped up onto the ladder to get a better look at the younger male. He looked miserable, sweat causing his hair to cling to his forehead, and his face was contorted into an expression of agony while he dreamed.

"Roach! Roach. Wake up. Oi, bug… you alright?" Ghost's voice was low, and the hand on his teammate's shoulder was attempting some form of reassurance as he shook the younger man awake.

The blond's pale eyes flickered open and he looked around with confusion, breathing heavily as he recovered from whatever nightmare it was he'd been having. His trembling lips tried to form words but couldn't seem to, as he could barely get enough air in his lungs to struggle out any noises at all. He was practically paralyzed in his fear. And Ghost shifted from his spot on the ladder to climb the rest of the way in—disregarding the argumentative creaks from the worn bedframe.

"It was just a dream, bug." Ghost mumbled and brushed some of the hair from Roach's eyes. Without much other thought he moved a little closer and wrapped his arms around the smaller man's waist to hold him tight and Roach simply clung to fistfuls of Ghost's loose shirt when the strong arms closed around him. The faint sounds of sobbing could still be heard but Roach's breathing seemed a lot more even than it had been. As the minutes ticked by and the rain poured on outside, Ghost whispered soft comforts until they began to take effect and Roach relaxed his grip on Ghost's clothes. "It's alright. Easy, Roach. Deep breaths. It was just a dream…"

And yet when another flash slipped through the blinds on the window and a near instantaneous bout of thunder vibrated through the walls, Roach went right back to sobbing and clinging to the other's back. But now he seemed to be speaking, despite his words becoming muffled by the fact that he'd buried his face in the softness of Ghost's shirt.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ghost asked softly and continued holding onto Roach's waist, one hand rubbing gentle circles on the man's side.

"…There were… gunshots…" answered Roach before biting the inside of his cheek to hold back another sobbing noise. "And… we… w-we were running. And Shepherd was there and he—"

"Hey, hey, it's alright. It wasn't gunshots. It was thunder, I promise. And thunder can't hurt you." It was really awful, seeing Roach that disoriented and upset. Ghost knew that nightmares were no cakewalk, but he was usually able to deal with them on his own. Roach, on the other hand, was visibly very distressed. And Ghost wanted to do what he could to ease the other's pain, to try to tell him it was alright, to help him calm down and eventually go back to sleep.

A few longer minutes passed and Roach slowly began to relax again, his eyelids fluttering closed despite his struggle to keep them open so he could keep talking to Ghost. The older man looked at the clock across the way, realizing how early in the day it was, before returning his attention to Roach and let his fingers drift through the blond's ruffled hair to help lull him into a more peaceful dream. The rain also was finally beginning to let up as the first rays of morning sun peeked into the room.

"See? The sun's out, Roach, there's no more thunder. You can sleep now, alright?"

Roach mumbled something unintelligible and Ghost continued to hold him close, until Roach tilted his head enough that he could speak and not end up muttering words into Ghost's shirt.

"…Will you stay up here with me tonight?"

"Of course I will."

"…You'll protect me?" Roach added, in a quieter yet anxious plea.

"Always. Even if there's thunder like gunshots or lightning that carves across the sky. Even if the world someday might fall apart around us, I'll keep you safe no matter what. Swear it on my own life."

And Roach remained silent for a moment before whispering, "Thank you…" and letting out a quiet sigh as if to let Ghost know that he was finally comfortable enough to sleep again.

"G'night, bug."

"Mmh… 'night, Ghost…"

With that he fell asleep and Ghost stayed awake for just a little longer to make sure Roach wouldn't wake up again. He stirred occasionally, sometimes twitching, sometimes making small mutters or noises, and Ghost would simply hold to him tighter or run a hand through his hair until he stopped moving again. Ghost eventually drifted off himself, dreaming of rainstorms.

The next morning, or rather, a few hours later, Ghost woke up to the alarm going off. Roach did as well and it startled him awake. He bolted upright and hit his head on the ceiling, a bad habit of his when he was frightened.

"OW!"

"Woah, take it easy, bug." Ghost chuckled softly as Roach rubbed his forehead with a slight pout. "I like you better in one piece. Be careful…"

"My head," Roach groaned and flopped back against the mattress, hand resting gingerly against the injured spot. "Ouch…"

Meanwhile the alarm was still going off and Ghost slipped out of the bed—with much creaking from the frame once again—and slapped the top button on the clock to end the incessant beeping. The room went silent again and the two men sighed in unison, glad to be rid of the obnoxious noise. Once that was done, Ghost changed clothes while he was up and when Roach hadn't moved to do the same, Ghost poked his head up to the bunk again so he could see what the other was up to. Turns out he'd simply rolled himself up in the sheets and gone back to sleep, given the large pile of fabric with the little tufts of blond hair poking out, and the soft breathing sounds that floated up through the blanket.

"Ah, well, I'll let him sleep," Ghost said to himself, and sat back down on the bottom bunk with a chuckle. "Poor bug needs it. I'll give him another ten minutes."

Ten minutes passed and then Ghost opened up the blinds, giving a cheerful but joking, "Rise and shine, Roach, time to get up! I gave you an extra ten minutes, don't make me regret it!"

Groaning, Roach slowly sat up and rubbed at his eyes. "Nn… five more minutes?"

"No. C'mon, hurry up or we'll be late. Do you wanna miss breakfast again?" Ghost pulled at the sheet Roach was holding onto still and sighed. Things were back to normal, Ghost wanted to keep it that way so no one suspected anything but also, it was good to be back to his usual playful self with Roach again. It was fun messing with him, but he still cared, even if it didn't show as often as it should.

The thought of missing breakfast was enough to get Roach immediately out of bed, changed, and presentable in about six minutes. A new record for him, which was a nice surprise.

"Let's go! Let's go! Hurry up! I'm not losing my marshmallows today, Ghost—"

"Yeah, yeah. Race you there? …But casually. Heard Soap's already wandering the halls and I'm not getting put on piss patrol again."

Roach grinned happily and slapped him on the arm. "You're it! Last one there gives up his marshmallows!"

Smirking, Ghost retorted, "You're on!" and the two power-walked off—after seeing Soap cross the hall behind them—and once they were free, they ran for it. They laughed as they jogged, feeling much more lighthearted than before. It was nice, to be able to joke and turn the mood around from what they'd had to deal with in the late night hours.

"Oi! No runnin' in the hallways!" –That was Soap. So the two immediately halted and chuckled to themselves, still keeping up their little game as they walked off, Ghost giving Roach little playful shoves and Roach jumping ahead, as he didn't want to lose the one thing that made getting up that early worth it.

At the end of their race, Roach won and Ghost hung his head in defeat. "You've gotta work harder than that! Gimme all your marshmallows!" Roach said with a triumphant smirk, and Ghost grumbled something about not being hungry as they sat down together and Ghost slid his bowl over to Roach's side of the table.

But the bowl slid right back, and Ghost glanced up at Roach for a moment.

"For last night. I'll let you keep them this time, as a thanks," Roach said softly, a warm smile spread on his face.

Ghost reached over to ruffle Roach's hair and laughed. "You're welcome. Any time."

The two sat together and chatted as they ate, and things were perfect in that moment.


End file.
